Impactful Interviewing:

Be Thorough But To The Point

by Beau Riche

If you love to talk and when you are nervous can go on and on, or if you are the opposite and clam up when you are in a stressful situation - you need to be conscious of this and not do either in an interview. When asked a question, an interview wants enough information that will help them understand what you are talking about, but not extraneous irrelevant information.

If you are answering a question using an example from your previous or current job and there is a lot of jargon or acronyms - try to use more commonplace term that more people are familiar with or explain what you mean in the beginning. If you are asked to describe a time when you lead a project - explain what the project was about, how many people you managed and any key points that demonstrate what a great job you did. What you don't want to do is get sidetracked and give details that aren't relevant to the question. The interviewer is not going to be interested in a play by play of the entire project - they want to know your role in it.

Keep on topic; take a moment before answering a question to organize the details in your mind. You don't want to start answering, get sidetracked and forget the point you were trying to make. If you stay on topic and know what you are going to say, you are going to be able to keep the interviewer's attention.

If you are a person of few words, practice with a friend or family member before your interview. Learn how to expand your answers so you give thorough information without living the interviewer wanting more. But if you are in doubt, less is better - an interviewer will ask follow-up questions if necessary.